WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The Amherst College men's basketball team mounted a late rally in the first half but could not overcome a hot-shooting Williams College offense as the Mammoths fell 70-56 on Saturday at Chandler Gymnasium.
The Mammoths closed regular season play with an 18-6 overall record and a 7-3 record in NESCAC play. Williams improved to 13-11 overall and 2-8 in the conference. The Amherst will enter the NESCAC Championship next and face a to-be-decided opponent in LeFrak Gymnasium on Saturday.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
*Senior Isiaha Dickens opened scoring with a layup, but sophomore Elias Chin quickly responded with two jumpers to equalize the contest at 4-4 with 16:29 to play.
*During an Amherst scoring drought, sophomore Jackson Rein netted a layup and junior Matt DeVine hit a three-pointer from the corner to take a 14-7 lead with 13:40 remaining.
*DeVine continued Williams' momentum, netting a three-pointer fed by senior Hudson Hansen from the wing at 10:25 remaining. 25 seconds later, senior Drew Martin retaliated, bucketing a three of his own from the wing to make it 18-12.
*A layup from senior Chris Hammond ignited an 8-0 streak between 7:47 and 4:09 remaining. Hammond's efforts were followed by a layup from junior Marc Garraud, a layup from first-year Brandon Margolin, and a second layup from Hammond, making it a one-point game at 21-20.
*Junior Nate Pabis wove around his defender and bucketed a layup from the paint at 2:31 remaining to gain Amherst's first lead of the night, 25-24.
*Following a 4-0 drive from Amherst, senior Sammy Cooley nailed a three-pointer to weaken Amherst's lead to 29-28 at the close of the half.
*Amherst's offense went dry out of the break, while a 7-0 drive from Williams reclaimed the lead for the Ephs as they notched a 35-29 lead.
*Following a three-pointer from first-year K.J. Neville at 17:57 to play, the Ephs defense left Amherst scoreless for five minutes, while field goals from Hansen, DeVine, and sophomore Aidan Yates made it 44-32 with 13:56 remaining.
*Threes continued to plague Amherst's defense throughout the final ten minutes as DeVine and senior Isiaha Dickens both bucketed points from beyond the arc to help Williams close the contest 70-56.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*Williams held the offensive advantage in live points, netting 51.4% (18-35) of field goals compared to 33.9% (19-56) from Amherst and 43.5% (10-23) of three-pointers compared to 26.3% (5-19) from the Mammoths. Amherst held the advantage in foul-shooting, converting 81.3% of free throws compared to 70.6% from Williams.
*Hansen was the game's leading scorer, netting 15 points. Neville followed close behind with 13 points.
*Senior Onyeraluobu Chibuogwu led defensively with 9 rebounds, the most of any player.
